Laudy Allan, SVP Global Operations, Crayola: Stop Solving the Wrong Problem

Laudy Allan, Senior Vice President of Global Operations at Crayola LLC, brings nearly two decades of operational leadership to a conversation that challenges some of the most common assumptions about how organizations approach problem-solving. Responsible for U.S. manufacturing, global logistics, transportation, customer service, engineering, and facilities, Laudy has spent her career building the systems, cultures, and habits that allow teams to face problems with curiosity rather than avoidance. In this episode of People Solve Problems, she shares the principles behind that work. One of the central ideas Laudy returns to throughout the conversation is the importance of involving the right people early. For her, that means prioritizing those closest to the problem, not necessarily those with the most credentials or experience with structured tools. She describes how mixing people who are deeply embedded in a process with those who are naturally curious and driven creates productive tension. That diversity of thought, she argues, is where the best questions emerge and where genuine accountability takes root. Structured problem-solving is what makes that collaboration possible, because it gives people a shared process to move through together, opening up communication and keeping the conversation grounded in facts rather than abstract debate. Laudy also addresses the relationship between data and problem clarity. In manufacturing and logistics, data tends to be structured and measurable. But in areas like global new product development, the problems are fuzzier, and the data often doesn't exist yet. Her approach in those situations is to start small: identify three to five things worth measuring, make process health visible, and let curiosity drive the next question. She sees data not as a starting requirement but as something that, once collected, generates better questions and opens conversations that weren't possible before. When it comes to the tools of structured problem solving, Laudy is deliberate about not being attached to any one approach. A3s work well on the manufacturing floor because of their accessibility and simplicity. But her deeper conviction is that the tool matters most as a vehicle for developing mindset. People don't arrive with the right problem-solving instincts already formed. The structure of a tool gives them the scaffolding to build those instincts, and the mindset follows. Prioritization is another area where Laudy offers a perspective shaped by real experience. Faced with hundreds of potential problems to address, her answer is focused. Three to five active problem-solving efforts at a time, chosen based on impact and complexity, pursued with genuine follow-through. The logic is straightforward: spreading effort across thirty items is the most reliable way to complete none of them. The conversation closes with one of its most personal moments. When asked about the hardest adjustment she has made moving into senior leadership, Laudy describes the shift from doing to coaching. For someone known for tenacity and a strong bias toward action, learning to step back and let others work through problems without jumping in has been both the most difficult transition and the most rewarding. She connects that shift directly to the culture she is building at Crayola, one where people are genuinely excited about problems rather than inclined to hide from them. Laudy holds Project Management Professional and Agile Project Management certifications, is a Six Sigma Green Belt, and earned her degree in information systems from Penn State University. She is currently pursuing her MBA at Lehigh University. To connect with Laudy and learn more about her work, visit www.crayola.com or find her on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/laudyallan/.